


Beaten In The Game Of Love

by aeon_of_ice



Category: The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-28
Updated: 2013-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-09 19:19:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/777081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeon_of_ice/pseuds/aeon_of_ice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anders was oddly happy when Ty broke up with Dawn, what he didn't like was how much it hurt his little assistant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beaten In The Game Of Love

**Author's Note:**

> I was commissioned to do this fic for my dear friend Freckles by her g/f. She been feeling down so why not write a ficlet of our favorite pairing for her? :) 
> 
> This has a potential to be chaptered, but that's all up to Freckles :3 
> 
> Hope everyone enjoys!!

Anders had been enjoying a fairly quiet morning. He had arrived to work an hour earlier than usual and spent the spare time quietly organizing his new clients. He had begun to find a peaceful rhythm to his morning when he heard the key turn in the lock all to easily; a signal that it wasn't even locked at all. He couldn't help but smirk at the high-pitched "Shit! Shit! Shit!" that came from the opposite side of the door. No doubt Dawn was panicking that either she had forgotten to lock the office, or they had been robbed. Still, Anders relished in the moment of her panic, and stayed focused on her papers. As she came bursting into the office, she was greeted by Anders holding out his coffee mug, "If you would, please, Dawn."

"Anders?!" Her mouth fell open, he was early... He was never early... "Oh god! The Mitchell account! The conference call! Is that this morning?!"

Anders just laughed, shaking his head and standing to go over and hand over his coffee cup to Dawn. "No, I just felt like coming in early."

Dawn furrowed her brow, finding that to be the oddest phrase she had ever heard out of his mouth. That was even counting his habit of informing her of all the new and depraved sexual things he had made up. As she walked to the coffee maker she discreetly sniffed the cup, finding the lack of the scent of alcohol surprising. 

The work day went as it usually did; Dawn handling all he angry calls, Anders sending flowers to conquests he couldn't remember, and through it all Dawn did her best to remember why she worked there. Then again, with Ty dumping her unannounced, her routine with Anders was actually comforting. Perhaps that's why she stayed. Through all his bullshit, Anders was the constant in her life and it did good to keep her grounded. 

It was around lunchtime when the door flew open, Ty barreling in directly to Anders' desk, "Anders, can we have lunch I really want to talk to you about- DAWN!" Her presence finally clicked with him and he felt an unfamiliar hint of warmth on his cheeks, as he was sure if he could be would be bright red right now.

However Dawn was quicker than he was and had already moved from her desk, grabbing her purse. "Tell you what, you two order in. I think I should go out for lunch." The door slammed behind her, the whole frame shaking, and Anders glare burning deep to Ty.

"Why the fuck would come down here, you shit?" Anders stared up at his brother, feeling bile rise up in his throat in an emotion he was unfamiliar with. "You know she works here, Ty. I think you need to leave."

"Whoa, since when do you care what Dawn thinks over what I had to do as a god? My powers nearly killed her Anders! What was I supposed to do?!"

Anders stepped up dangerously close, unafraid of the temperature of the room dropping suddenly. "You're supposed to not break her heart over something she can't even understand!" The rising tone of his voice betrayed even his own usual handle of his emotions. "You got involved with a mortal, against my advice mind you! And you didn't even have the foresight to see that your god shit just MIGHT cause problems!"

"I love her, Anders!"

"Oh, get off it, Ty! You don't know what love is!"

Ty just smirked, crossing his arms, "Oh, I can't believe you of all people want to lecture me about what love is!" 

Anders fist clenched, rising as he fought back the urge to punch the other. "You listen to me you little bastard..." His tone had gone from furious to a quiet rage, and yet as he spoke his voice was flowered with affection, "It's when you see her you get chills, and not your stupid kind of chills... real ones. It's the way your heart skips when you hear the sound of her heels on the floor. It's how all coffee tastes like shit if it wasn't made by her. It's how cute she looks when she scowls at you for being incorrigible. It's in how her pitch rises proportionately to how angry or worried she is. It's how your own power betrays you and you'll say absolutely anything just to make her stay by your side. It's how watching her with another man destroys you, but you deal because you know you're no good for her. It's how in a lifetime of one night stands, she's the only woman you want to see every day of your life."

Ty stood there, his eyes widened as he smirked, "You... You love Dawn!"

"Umm no..." Anders laughed, shaking his head, "I was giving you examples." The God of Poetry himself was finding himself stumbling over his own words, more uncomfortable than he could have predicted.

"I don't know how I didn't see it before... You really do love her..." Ty felt overcome with jealousy. Anders had to have everything, including the only woman who belonged to Ty. "You need to say something."

Anders started to laugh, "And what if I did? What would you expect me to do?"

"Tell her!" Ty yelled, annoyed even more at Anders, "You finally have normal, real emotions for someone and you're too prideful to say it! Just tell Dawn you love her!"

The gasp that came from the doorway made them both freeze, their eyes widened as they both were too terrified to say something. But it was finally Dawn who broke the silence, "Is... Is that true?

Ty smirked to his brother, moving back, "Yes it is. He's just been too chickenshit to say it." He turned, quickly leaving, slamming the door behind him. 

Dawn wrung her hands together, looking around the room, "I... Umm... I got all the way to my car and realized I forgot my keys..."

With a soft laugh, Anders rubbed his stubble, realizing he horribly needed to shave. "Top desk drawer," he looked down, feeling an unusual feeling of embarrassment. "That's where you always keep them..."

Dawn went over to him, standing before him to make him look. The moment Anders looked upon her, he couldn't control himself. His hands cupped her face, pulling her into a gentle but deep kiss. 

He tasted like coffee with hazelnut creamer, his favorite. The kiss told her that this wasn't a lie, as Anders was so accustomed to. He didn't kiss women without intention to bed them, and certainly not after being called out as Ty had just done. So she allowed herself to enjoy the kiss, only breaking it when she had to finally take a breath, "All these years... Why now?"

"I always have... And I always will..."

Dawn rested her forehead against his, her arms wrapped gently over his shoulders, "Say it, you asshole."

There was a lump in the god's throat as he tried to somewhere find the courage to say the words he had never said to anyone outside his own family. But it was the featherlight kiss she gave him that brought the words from his lips.

"...I love you..."


End file.
